The English August weather restricted outstanding cricketing performances this week.
At the T20 Finals Day, Shahid Afridi's 80 in 42 balls still wasn't enough to beat Somerset in the second semi, as Jos Buttler's three sixes and Alfonso Thomas' thoughtful Super Over took them through to the final yet again. There, they fell short of the target, thanks largely to Joshua Cobb's match-winning 4-22. The Leicestershire batsman has one of the highest batting strike rates for T20 in world cricket (over 150) so it is ironic that he was dismissed first ball in the semi and made his name at Edgbaston with leg breaks. Veteran 'keeper Paul Nixon took a great catch in his swansong game but the four well-judged midwicket catches made by substitute fielder Max Boyce probably deserved the Man of the Match award.
Leicestershire's T20 Cup triumph delivers them a place in at least the qualifiers for the lucrative Champions League. However, their County Championship misery continued, being trounced by Surrey, for whom Steven Davies scored a century and Tim Linley finished with match aggregate figures of 9-79,
Warwickshire beat Yorkshire to put them just a few points adrift of Lancashire in the race to win the Division One pennant. Shivnarine Chanderpaul's 193 not only rescued his side's first innings but laid the foundation for a vital victory. However, my Player of the Week is his team-mate Keith Barker. Like Cobb and Linley, he is an unsung hero who doesn't always hold down a first-team place for his county. This week, he seized his chance while Woakes and Rankin were needed by their respective countries, by taking 4-73 and 4-56, either side of a spirited 85 in which he held his own in partnership with Chanderpaul. While the 24 year-old Mancunian has a couple of first-class centuries to his name, he has performed better as a one-day seam bowler who can clout some boundaries at the death. Therefore it was encouraging to see him have such an excellent match as an all-rounder in the Championship.
